


Maximum Verdancy

by corgasbord



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Fluff, M/M, i like plants. you like plants. let's talk about plants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 05:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corgasbord/pseuds/corgasbord
Summary: Kaito stumbles across Rantarou in the school greenhouse, and is pleasantly surprised to discover that someone else shares his appreciation for plants.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so, it's kaito's birthday today, and given how much i love him, it would've been a goddamn crime for me not to do SOMETHING to celebrate the occasion. this is another idea i got from the ao3 discord, based off of the headcanon that rantarou likes plants. since it's already canon that kaito loves decorative plants, what better way could there be for these two to bond?
> 
> ([tumblr](http://corgiboard.tumblr.com/post/159507293705/maximum-verdancy) link)

One of many little-known facts about Kaito Momota is that he likes to spend his free time in the school’s greenhouse. The heat doesn’t bother him too much, and the plants have an immediately relaxing effect on him. What’s more, they give him something to look forward to. He likes being able to stop by after his classes to check on them and see the progress they’ve been making.

He doesn’t normally run into anyone there, either, so it comes as a surprise when he visits the greenhouse one afternoon and sees Rantarou Amami, Class 79’s resident cryptic pretty boy, eyeing a row of geraniums with fascination.

Letting the glass-paned door fall shut behind him, Kaito shuffles closer. “Oh. Hey, Amami. What’re you doing here?”

“Hm?” Rantarou looks up, one finger poised at his chin. “Ah, Momota-kun. I’m just taking a look at the plants, is all. I take it you’re here for the same reason, yeah?”

Kaito scoffs. “I’m not here just to look. I gotta check on ‘em, too.”

“Oh, is that so? I didn’t know you were part of the botany club,” Rantarou remarks, a little surprised.

“I’m not,” Kaito corrects him, crossing his arms. “I just make sure they’re doing their job right, is all.”

Rantarou chuckles, like he finds that amusing or something. “I’m not sure they’d like it if they heard that.”

“Why wouldn’t they? If anything, they should be grateful to get help from someone like me- Kaito Momota, master of the sciences!” With that, Kaito stands up straighter and jabs a thumb at himself in a self-important fashion.

“Interesting,” Rantarou hums, casually sliding his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t take you for the type of guy who’s into gardening.”

“You kidding me? Plants might not be the _coolest_ \- that’s space, obviously- but they’re still pretty fucking awesome, if you ask me.”

“Ah. So this is just a hobby, then.”

Kaito tilts his head and shrugs. “Well… yeah, I guess you could call it that.”

A distant, wistful smile tugs at the corners of Rantarou’s mouth, and he tilts his head in the direction of the plants he’d been examining. “That’s nice. I wish I could come here more often, but I’m normally pretty busy with other things.”

“Why don’t you just get your own plants?” Kaito asks.

“I’ve been considering it,” Rantarou says, letting his eyes skim the neat arrangements of flowers and ferns around him. “It would be nice to have a couple of them around. I guess I'm just indecisive as to which kind would be best, though.”

“Why limit yourself to just a couple, then? I'd say just get as many as you're able to take care of. I mean, that's what I did.” And for once, that isn't an exaggeration on his part. He's placed as many decorative plants around his house as his grandparents will allow, coordination be damned.

“Really?” Rantarou laughs. “I'll bet that looks interesting.”

“Of course it does. Plants make everything look more interesting. More _vibrant_ , y’know?” Kaito grins and ambles past Rantarou, taking his time to admire all of the plants lined up along the way. “If you ask me, a home’s not really a home until you add some life to it.”

Rantarou smiles, looking almost amused. “Wow. These plants really put you in high spirits, don't they?”

“Yep!” Kaito turns to face Rantarou again, hands on his hips. “Hey- just outta curiosity, what would you say your favorite plant in here is?”

“Hm. In here?” Rantarou’s eyes sweep the room again. “Well, in terms of aesthetic value, I really like caladiums and spider plants… they take up quite a bit of space when fully grown, but they look impressive if you care for them properly. Oh, but succulents are also nice. Resilient, too… and of those, I'd say I like aloe the most, since it's both pretty and practical. Did you know it has healing properties-”

“Good lord,” Kaito interrupts, frowning. “Once you start running your mouth, you really don't know when to stop, do you? I ask you to pick one favorite, and you give me a damn laundry list. No wonder you can't figure out what you want.”

Ignoring how taken aback Rantarou looks, Kaito sighs, continuing, “Well, that won't be a problem if you have my help.”

“Oh.” Rantarou gives him another, more strained smile. “I don't know if that's necessary, though…”

"Hey, don't worry about it!” Kaito cheerfully claps a hand on Rantarou’s shoulder to steer him in the direction of the most brightly lit area in the greenhouse. “You mentioned you like succulents, right? I've got a whole bunch of those, I can tell you all about ‘em!”

Rantarou brushes Kaito off as soon as they come to a halt, but doesn't protest any further. Instead, his eyes fall on the colorful array of succulent plants laid out under near-blinding fluorescent bulbs.

Not realizing how hypocritical it is to start lecturing after he just told Rantarou to quit prattling, Kaito launches into a rather lengthy explanation about the care and keeping of succulents. “Now, the nice thing about succulents is that as long as they stay somewhere warm and dry, and with lots of sun, it’s practically impossible to kill them. You just can’t give them too much water, or leave them in the cold. Cold is, like, their one weakness.”

Then he points to a row of cacti, some of which have flowers blooming on their prickly surfaces. “Cacti are my favorite, personally. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re basically the toughest plants out there. Plus, they’re just really cool. You just gotta be careful with them, so you don’t prick yourself or anything.”

“Well, it definitely sounds like you speak from experience,” Rantarou observes, examining the cacti somewhat warily. “I’d rather not get anything that would hurt my little sisters if they got their hands on it, though.”

“Ah! Good point,” Kaito says, snapping his fingers. “I forgot how many anklebiters you’ve got running around your place.”

Rantarou frowns. “Hey, now. They’re not all toddlers.”

Kaito ignores him, however, in favor of continuing. “In that case, I’d go with some variety of Echeveria or Sedum. Those ones are the most popular, especially in rock gardens - they’re nice and soft, and a lot of them grow in looking like flowers! You just can’t let them get exposed to moisture or frost, or they kick the bucket _real_ fast. What I normally do is keep them in clay pots so I can stick them under a lamp indoors during the winter.”

It’s only when Kaito actually pauses to take a breath that Rantarou is able to get a word in. “Momota-kun, you don’t get to talk about this kind of thing with other people often, do you?”

Kaito stops. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hm. How did you put it?” Rantarou brings a finger to his lips, smiling coyly. “Once you start running your mouth, you don’t know how to stop.”

Offended, Kaito gapes at him. “Are you kidding me? I’m giving you valuable advice!” He scoots back a bit, planting his feet next to a tall floor cactus topped off with a bright pink blossom. “I’m standing next to my favorite cactus right now, and you’re disrespecting me like this?”

“I-” Rantarou pauses for a second, brow furrowing in confusion as he processes Kaito’s strange statement, before deciding to disregard it. “I don’t intend any disrespect. You’re just unloading a lot of information at once- some of which I already know, actually. My problem isn’t that I don’t know anything about plants. It’s more that I’m having trouble deciding which ones would look best in my room.”

Kaito stops bristling and goes quiet for a minute, almost embarrassed. “... Ah.”

Rantarou smiles again, tight-lipped and patient. “I have to say, though… you’re very passionate about your interests. It’s pretty impressive.”

Kaito doesn’t know why the compliment catches him off guard, but it does. “Well, it’s not like I plan to _study_ them or anything,” he manages, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just think they’re cool, that’s all.”

“Well, I can understand that much. I like them, too,” Rantarou admits, nodding. Then he runs the back of his hand over his forehead to unstick his dampened bangs from it. “I should probably get going now, seeing as I didn't have much time to hang around in the first place. But I’ll tell you what- I might just start to come by more often, and if I do get a plant, you’ll be the first to hear about it.”

With that, he moves to exit the greenhouse, brushing their shoulders together with a wink as he passes and leaving Kaito too stunned to say anything.

About a minute after Rantarou leaves, Kaito shakes his head, acutely aware of how sweaty the heat has made him. “God,” he mutters to himself, “I can’t believe I almost had a normal conversation with that guy.” It seems that in the midst of his excitement to share his knowledge, Kaito had forgotten what a goddamn _fruit_ Rantarou is, on top of all his other oddities.

Still, this gives them at least one thing in common. For as little as he knows about the guy, Kaito decides that he can’t be all that bad.

**Author's Note:**

> as you can clearly see, i am a serious writer, producing serious content,


End file.
